I wasn’t going to open it. I really wasn’t. I had even taped the
receipt to the box so I would not lose it before I could return it.
Being a jack of all trades, master of none the last thing I needed
was a new hobby. So many doohickeys for polymer clay still unopened
purchased with the 40% off coupons that I hated to see go to waste.
So much of this and that was already stuffed in cabinets or what my
husband lovingly refers to as the Michael’s store in the attic. 700+ tole
books and magazines and 400+ bottles of paints I had worked with
for 20 years and could still use with for another 20 years and not get
all of the projects done that I wanted.
Life was changing. In the span of a few weeks my company merged,
my work was outsourced, new systems that did not work properly were
put in place causing customer chaos and there was a family illness. I was
suddenly leaving at 5AM and not getting home until around 9pm from
work on many nights. I had the box for about two weeks when one
Saturday the systems were down and I stayed home from work. By that
time my brain was fried and I deserved a present, especially one
purchased by overtime and a coupon even if it did wind up stashed away
with so many other items. That box was a kit that contained my very first
torch, Fireworks (yuck, do not buy), and a few goodies to go with it from
Hobby Lobby. This no return turned out to be the point of no return!
That was in 2006. I’ve upgraded my torch three times since that first
purchase. My beads are made in my garage studio in Humble Texas. I
hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.
 | 
